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Bullock held without bail, defense granted gag order

EUREKA- The man accused of murdering a Eureka priest, Father Eric Freed, is being held without bail at the Humboldt County Jail after Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Dale Reinholtsen granted a motion filed by the District Attorney’s Office Friday.

Deputy District Attorney, Elan Firpo, filed a motion and asked that Gary Lee Bullock, 44 be held at no bail. On Monday Bullock’s bail was set at $1.2 million at his arraignment. Bullock has been at the Humboldt County Jail since Jan. 2, after his stepfather turned him into authorities. Bullock is accused of killing St. Bernard Catholic Church Priest Eric Freed with a wooden stake and metal pipe after breaking through a window to Freed’s home on New Year’s Day.

Bullock’s defense attorney, Caleb Cockrum, argued Friday in court that 7 out of the 9 homicide suspects in the county are not being held without bail, with the exception of two suspects whose cases both involve multiple victims. The defense noted that Bullock had a brother who lived in Redway, step-family who lived in Garberville, and said Bullock’s wife and children were leaving the area due to his high-profile case, stating Bullock was “not welcome back home.”

Firpo argued back that if Bullock were to post bail, he would be a flight risk, and a danger to the community. Judge Reinholtsen granted the motion but issued a gag order until next Wednesday, when a judge is to determine what the gag order will fully cover.